But it's likely to be of similar competence whether it occurs this month, or in December 2015 or December 2020.

Because I can't completely walk away from Notre Dame football cold turkey, I choose to hold onto the faint hope that Swarbrick will execute a more competent search than he did in 2009 and than his predecessors did in 1996, 2001 and 2004.

It's faint hope, not a prediction.

I hope that Swarbrick has grown enough in his job since 2009 that he'll be better equipped to make a serious run at the obvious candidates. In the event that he fails in that regard (I don't think we've done our best in recruiting the A-list guys in the past, but I recognize that even herculean efforts may not sway Nick Saban to move from Tuscaloosa to South Bend), then he'll have to earn his money to be the first to identify the next college head coaching superstar.

Much easier said than done, but in three years, we'll be talking about a few guys that aren't on many people's radar screen now. It's Swarbrick's job -- should that be necessary -- to identify those guys and hire one of them.

Like I said, it's a hope, not a prediction.

But it's clear Kelly can't get it done, and delaying the inevitable doesn't provide any discernible benefit that I can identify.